The Name of The Rose - References in Popular Culture

References in Popular Culture

• The song "Sign of the Cross" from Iron Maiden is about an execution during inquisition and openly cites the novel/movie title in the chorus lyrics.
• The song "Abbey of Synn", from Ayreon's album Actual Fantasy, is based on The Name of the Rose, specifically referencing the labyrinth, the blackened fingers, and the book that kills, among other plot points.
• The song "Neon Bible", from Canadian rock band The Arcade Fire's album Neon Bible, references The Name of the Rose's famous cause of death with the lyrics "Take the poison of your age / Don't lick your fingers when you turn the page". In addition, this song (and many others on the album) addresses Eco's theme regarding the futility of reading any text or message as an absolute truth.
• The videogame Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem features a character who is a Franciscan monk named Paul Luther, who, after arriving to a cathedral in Amiens during the Inquisition, finds the corpse of a monk and is judged guilty for the murder. After escaping arrest from the cathedral's authority, he starts to investigate the cathedral's dark secrets and the real reason of the monk's death.
• The song With Hunt sung by the Japanese virtual singer (also named Vocaloid) Megurine Luka is about a red-haired girl who is thought to be a witch. She is finally burnt. Although the majority of the lyrics are in Japanese, some are in Latin. In the chorus, we can find two sentences said by Salvatore in Umberto Eco's book: "Penitenziagite!" and "La mortz est super nos!".